Gates have been used as a means of providing access for closed or fenced-in areas for a long time. With outdoor applications, gates have been used in a variety of circumstances required different features depending on the application. One application is to provide access to areas where livestock are kept. Typically these types of applications utilize metal gates having two or more hinges. The hinges allow the gate to swing to an open or closed position to either allow livestock to pass or to keep the livestock in the enclosed area. When the gate is installed on the fence, the height of the gate is preset to provide clearance for the ground underneath the gate. The hinges are bolted to both the fence and the gate.
With any outdoor application, a buildup of snow underneath the gate may prevent the gate from being opened or closed. If a substantial accumulation of snow occurs, access to the enclosed area may not be easily obtainable until the snow buildup is cleared. With livestock, the buildup of snow is still a problem, but additional problems also exist. Often times manure buildup occurs which prevents the gate from being opened or closed. Manure buildup occurs on a daily basis, and may impact the utility of the gate until the manure buildup is cleared. Yet another problem is fence-jumping. This may be problematic with large animals such as horses. Often times spirited horses may be kept for a period of time. Typically fences used to keep these horses are electrified to discourage contact or jumping. For safety reasons however, the gate of the fence is not electrified. The spirited horse thus may be eventually encouraged to attempt to jump the gate.
In the past gates used for these applications were not easily adjustable. The bolts used to attach the two or more hinges to the gate and to the fence had to be loosened or removed with wrenches to allow repositioning of the gate. Depending on the design of the gate, clearance of the structure of the gate with the hinge often times necessitated removal of the hinge for placement in a more optimal location. This process had to be repeated for repositioning of the gate back to the initial position. Unfortunately, for livestock applications, this process was repeated on a daily or weekly basis. Adverse weather conditions, such as extremely high or low temperatures, and rain or snow, made the gate adjustment process more difficult or impossible.